Tag: photos

I hadn’t been posting as much on the blog lately, and after writing about Aunt Donna I feel like I should distract myself a bit by writing about Civil War history. So indulge me, if you will.

Among the Union troops at Gettysburg was a middle-aged French-Canadian soldier who had enlisted at the beginning of the war in the Boston Volunteers, a unit that later became the 11th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. His name was Moses Beaulieu, and he was a widower who had left his 4 year old daughter in the care of the woman who ran the boarding house where they lived in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. He was one of the first members of his family (my mother’s family) to move from Quebec to Massachusetts, where he had found work as a bootmaker in the booming shoe industry.

This past week, my Aunt Donna, who had been suffering from vascular dementia for the last couple of years, passed away. She was 72 years old.

Aunt Donna was one of those relatives of mine who helped shape me into the person I am today, in many ways. I loved her very very much. I wish I had been able to be there for her more often, especially in the last few months. They were particularly difficult for her, as her ability to have a conversation and organize her thoughts was eroded away by the ravaging disease acting in conjunction with her other health issues. Before I met Kelly, she was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to move back to Massachusetts, so I could be there for her when she needed me. And in some ways I was, and I am all too glad to have done those things like help her get her house ready for the big hurricanes a few years ago. It was the least I could do. I wish I had done more.

She went with me to my first live Red Sox game, which was such a treat as I had been a fan most of my life but, living far away, was unable to attend any games, even in childhood. Kelly (who was also there) snapped this picture of us, which is my favorite pictures of her and I. It reminds me of how she was always so full of fun, so full of life. She was a truly good person, with an endless supply of empathy and compassion for other people. She donated to all sorts of liberal causes. She befriended so many people from different walks of life. Although she did not have any pets of her own as an adult (at least, of which I am aware), she loved animals, and loved to have our dogs sit with her or on her lap.

Even as a kid, she indulged me with things like books and models and taking me places. She was the one who introduced me to the science fiction of Isaac Asimov. She also got me interested in political writers like Molly Ivins and Robert Reich. She was a huge supporter of President Obama, and we had many great conversations about politics. She always encouraged my intellectual curiosity. And as a lifelong music teacher, she always encouraged passion for music.

I will miss her greatly, possibly more than I am capable of uttering or showing, at least in public. I think the world is lesser without her.

Most of you know that we’ve been doing this forafewyearsnow. Partly it’s because we’re cheap broke, and partly it’s because we send this link to nearly 200 people who we’d legitimately want to send a real card to. Also, I’m not big on the card produced by Shutterfly and never seen by the sender thing, and this method actually has a Snowflake’s chance in Cambridge of generating a conversation*. So we do it this way.

Violet definitely has her favorite spots in the house to sleep. One of them is the basket that we made into a little cat bed. It sits in the guest room (now unofficially called Violet’s room since she is the one who spends the most time in there) under the window.

This cat bed used to sit on top of the upright freezer in our kitchen in the old place and Scratch and Bucky would sometimes battle over who got to sleep in it. Now Violet is the only one who uses it.

She also loves to sleep in the office up on the top floor, usually in the little cat hammock but not always. Lately she likes to sleep under the desk when I am sitting there at the computer working.

I love that she wants to be nearby whenever I am in the office. It is quite endearing.

Yesterday when Kelly was up here practicing her music Violet also came up here to sit with her and listen.

We really lucked out to get a little kitty with such a sweet disposition.

In my last gardening post, I had promised to put up more pictures at some point to show how things were progressing with the garden. And so here is the progress report. Today was a gorgeous (but hot) summer day and I was out in the yard doing some work, so I thought I would take some pictures for another blog post.

Yesterday Kelly and I took a short day trip out to Lincoln to visit the Drumlin Farm. We wanted to see it because I am thinking about applying for a job there with Mass Audubon. So we spoke with some friends of ours who work there and went out to see them.

Blogroll

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If you don’t already read this site, you should. Funny stuff.

The White Knot- White Knot for Equality-
Equal rights are important to everyone. Spread the word that all loving couples deserve the same legal rights, benefits, and respect that civil marriage bestows.

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